Old School trucks: Southern Transport—Part 1
Southern Transport can trace their roots back to 1946 when HG Richardson purchased the two trucks then owned by Niagara Sawmilling
The HWR story is a legendary one and few would argue that the late Bill Richardson, who was at the helm for many decades, will be a New Zealand Transport Legend for generations to come.
We will look at a few more HWR companies in future issues, but for the next couple of months, we will focus on some of the best of the Southern Transport fleet over the previous few decades until today.
It was the late ’80s before I managed to start photographing Southern Transport trucks in the flesh and they instantly struck me as a classic looking livery. The livery was not over the top, had clean lines, and the green and gold just seemed to complement the trucks. As a Mack-dominated company, I thought every model of Mack looked great in their colours.
Macks didn’t just dominate their fleet, as Southern Transport bought into G E Tregenza in 1980 and while the Tregenza name was maintained, Southern Transport certainly brought the Mack influence to the fleet before it was sold in 1996.
There have been many standout trucks in the Southern fleet and although the aforementioned Macks have always dominated, there were other iconic brands.
Local company Empire Forwarding was purchased in 1993 and with it, they inherited a very cool International Eagle. However, unfortunately, it never wore the Southern Transport colours.
One of my all-time favourites in the fleet actually wore a Kenworth badge. I managed to photograph the lone (at the time) Kenworth in the fleet when it was brand-new back in 1994 and the T950 certainly stood out among the fleet in the Invercargill depot at the time.
I photographed it again in 2007 after it received a refurbishment, but the highlight was photographing it once again in 2010, right after a full restoration (with a few shiny bits added).
The big T950 was then retired and has since spent its days in the now world-famous Bill Richardson World Transport Museum.
The museum has been a godsend for Southern Transport fans, as many trucks have been restored in the green and gold colours, which often come out from undercover to join in with the yearly Invercargill truck show and parade ensuring the classic fleet is preserved in history.
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